


Blood of the Hunted

by GokuGirl



Series: Creatures of the Night Trilogy [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Gen, Out of Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2002-06-22
Updated: 2002-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-10 23:18:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4411742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GokuGirl/pseuds/GokuGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vampires are being murdered all over Satan City and it's up to Pan and Bra to stop it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Letters from the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter books by Laurell K. Hamilton and is the second version of a story with the same name. The original (which is complete) can be found on my [website](http://denkaku.gokugirl.com/story.php?sid=17) along with its sequel "Blood of the Warriors".
> 
>  **Ages:** Pan is 17  & Bra is 19

_[ "Do the words "cruel and unusual" mean anything to you?" - Son Pan ]  
_

Someone had left a note in the mailbox with no return name or address. Pan stared at the plain white envelope, wondering about the letter inside. It could have been from Bra, she sometimes forgot about the small things. The thought left her mind as quickly as it had arrived when she realized that her address was typed and not in Bra's small, neat handwriting. She took the letter into the house to open later.

Her parents were watching television in the living room. They were good parents and good people, but overprotective behavior often surfaced when dealing with their only child. Son Gohan was a scientist and often overanalyzed things outside of the lab. He was tall and still very strong (despite the huge cutback on his training) with short-cut black hair and dark framed glasses. Son Videl (formerly Satan)  was short and athletic. She was doing work as a secretary until she received her degree in business. Both looked up and Pan began to speak. She knew what they wanted by the expressions on their faces.

“I had a good day. Did you hear someone come up on the porch?” She showed them the envelope.  “This was in the mailbox but I have no idea who it’s from."

Her mother couldn't see why there was so much fuss about a letter. “Open it, then, Pan-chan. Are you afraid of it or something?"

“I’m not afraid of anything.” Pan answered with a mildly offended look but something was holding her back. She couldn't understand why she felt so much trepidation over something so small. Maybe it was the fact that there was no return address. Her thoughts screeched to an abrupt halt when she realized that she was afraid of a letter for kami's sake! Taking the letter opener from her mother, she neatly slit it open.

The words didn't make any sense to her. Yes, they were in a language that she understood and yes, the type was clearly readable. It was the meaning of the typewritten words that puzzled her.

“You look confused,” Gohan said, taking the paper from her. He read it, too, and began to laugh. Pan didn’t think it was very funny.

_Dearest Son Pan,_

_We have been watching you for a very long time and believe that you can help. Please meet with us at The Underground, neutral territory, at eight-thirty tonight. We will be waiting for you._

_Sincerely,_  
_The Master of Satan City_

Her father passed the letter to Videl while wiping amused tears from his eyes. "They want your help? You're a seventeen-year-old girl!"

"I know how old I am!" she exclaimed as her temper began to flare. "What's so funny about someone needing my help?" Her voice was low and calm in the way it always became when she was borderline pissed off. Gohan's face sobered immediately, seriousness quickly replacing all traces of humor.

Videl attempted to diffuse the situation. "You don't have experience with anything at all, Pan. That person should really call the police instead."

Pan's dark eyes went down to a new degree of coldness. "I'm going to that club, Okaasan. It's not as if I'm too young to get in."

The Underground, a large building whose music spilled onto the street and attracted all sorts of clientele, was in the heart of Satan City. It was a popular teen hangout that never allowed anyone over twenty-five to even set foot inside the doorway. Pan went there on occasion; Bra went there every Friday night.

"Wait a minute, Videl," Gohan said with a look on his face that Pan knew well. A stray idea had popped into his head, one that he thought was excellent. "Let's allow Pan to help whoever it is."

She was wary and understandably so. It was fine and dandy when her father's ideas involved someone, or something, else but when it involved her, they often were used for "her own good". "What lesson are you trying to teach me, this time?"

He smiled. "Since you want to be an adult so much, you can handle this problem like an adult. Personally, I think you should just enjoy the remainder of your childhood. I never really had one."

"I know, Tousan. You were so busy training to defeat evil aliens or hitting the books that you never had a chance to just be a kid." She had heard the stories many, many times from both her father *and* her grandfather. "I won't disappoint you by acting childish."

She went upstairs to change her clothes and her Videl gave Gohan a worried look. "My baby is going to meet someone she doesn't even know!"

"Videl, honey..."

"If anything happens to her," she poked him in the chest, "*you* can expect to be sleeping on the couch for the rest of your life!"

***

Bra met her at the club, right on time, though she regretted it the moment her friend walked in. She was slender and of average height with greenish-blue hair, blue eyes, and a passion for purchasing the latest styles from Europe. Pan was dressed casually in new jeans and a blue tank top while her taller, older friend was dressed to kill in a black dress. The girl had the worst cause of guy watching that Pan had ever seen. Everywhere they went together -- the mall, the club, even the grocery store! She was always searching for the perfect guy. Because she was her best-friend, Pan didn't have the heart to tell her that he didn't exist.

The music was loud and the tempo was fast, driving even the shyest of people to the dance floor. Pan really didn't like to dance though sometimes she gave in to Bra. The other girl's blue eyes were searching the sea of people for a guy without a girl on his arm.

"Bra-chan, I have something to tell you!" Pan shouted above the music.

She looked up, a slightly annoyed look on her face. "You invite me down here and then you distract me. Why, Pan?"

"We not here to find dates, Bra, we're here to help someone."

"*You* want to help someone?" She was shocked and it showed. Before Pan could respond, a short blond girl took a seat at their table.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"You are Son Pan?" The girl had an accent that sounded Norwegian. In the seventh grade she had an art teacher from Norway and the inflections were similar.

"Hai. Who are you?"

"I am Kirsten and you are the one I seek. *You*," she glanced at Bra, "are not."

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Bra began but Pan covered her mouth.

"She's my friend, you don't have to worry about her."

Kirsten nodded and motioned for them both to follow her. She lead them across the room to a marked door was marked with a sign that read "Authorized Personnel Only" in bold black letters. Pan had opened her mouth to question her when Kirsten pulled a key on a chain from underneath her shirt and inserted it into the lock. After exchanging curious glances, Bra and Pan followed her inside.

"Always keep me in sight," she told them with a very serious expression as she led them down a narrow staircase. "I cannot protect you if you are not near."

"*You* protect *me*?!" she asked incredulously.

"Ja. I know that you are Saiya-jin but they do not care. I also suggest that you do not purposefully insult anyone. I only have limited control over my people."

"You're just a kid!" Bra said as if she didn't already know. "How could you control *anyone*?"

Kirsten turned slightly. "How can you get a date?" Her question caused Bra's eyes to narrow in anger. "You are as resolute just as I am. You do not understand who, or what, we are."

Her color of her eyes darkened and both girls felt themselves being drawn forward while still remaining still. Kirsten blinked once and the spell was broken.

"Rule number one when dealing with our kind: Never look into their eyes." She smiled and continued onward.

The door at the bottom of the staircase was slightly ajar and no sound came from the room beyond. Kirsten had indicated with her words that there were other people underground but neither Pan nor Bra had ever hear of anyone being completely silent. They also knew that people needed light to live by but the room on the other side of the door was pitch black.

"We are no longer like those above," she said softly, answering the question before it had been asked. Lamps along the walls suddenly flared to life and startled Bra so much that she shrieked. "Our kind thrives in darkness; it is our element. My people live underground in caves, sewers, and tunnels wishing for the day that we will be able to walk above ground without fear.

Pan's eyes were huge as the pale light fell across Kirsten's face. "What are you?" she asked in a whisper, half-afraid of the answer.

"We are the living dead," she said as a strange light entered her eyes. Her lips suddenly thinned and pulled away to reveal a set of pointed fangs. "We are the vampires."

The girls just stood there, staring at her. Bra suddenly laughed. "Oh come on! Those are only plastic!" Pan didn't say anything as a wave of power washed over her but she did begin backing away from the blond girl. The energy was growing in intensity by the second until Pan felt smothered by it. It didn't lightly caress her body like the energy from her friends and family, it assaulted it. Just as quickly as it had been sensed, it was gone. Pan looked back to check on Bra and took note of her pale face.

"You are sensitive as well," Kirsten said to her. "I had not known that."

"You stopped hiding your energy," Pan said with a shaking voice. "I first thought you were human."

Bra looked back-and-forth between the two. "What are you talking about? What sort of ki is it?"

"It's not really ki seeing as she's dead."

"My energy is preternatural and not just limited to vampires."

"Let me get this straight," Pan began. "We can sense your undead power."

"Ja."

"I'm starting to think that not many people can." They were still paused before the door with Pan straining to hear a sound, any sound.

"Unlike the sensing of ki, this is not a learned ability. If you are human you must be born with it."

Kirsten opened the door wide and Bra clutched at Pan's arm. ' _She's a demi-Saiya-jin for kami's sake! That was supposed to make her stronger than I am. Why in the world is she trying to use me as a shield?_ ' Bra was surprisingly soft for one of Vegeta's offspring. Too much talking on the phone and gossiping about boys had made her that way.

The first thing Pan noticed was the drops of crimson blood that marked the white carpet from the doorway onward. She went on guard while Bra took a deep breath to calm herself before she began to look around. Kirsten's eyes narrowed and darkened in color right before her voice rose to a near shout.

"Who has done this?" she asked. "Who was not neat with their meal and marred my floor?" Several vampires stepped away from the shadows that were gathered along the sides of the room and all of them hung their heads like children who had tracked mud through the house.

"Master," a brunette began, fear clear in her voice, "I would never-"

"Answer the question! Who has ruined my carpet?" For a moment no one spoke but eventually a man stepped forward and pointed to a closed door.

"Akiro wakes, Master, and David cannot control the hunger."

She strode quickly to the door. "He was not supposed to control the hunger. No one can control it save the master who made him. Is David his master, Caleb?"

"No!" He was quick to respond. "You are his master and mine as well. No one can hope to match your power." He was trembling slightly, afraid that she was going to punish him. "You are our unquestioned leader."

"There is one who questions me." Pan gave into her intense curiosity and followed her inside of the room, leaving Bra to the vampires' company.

The walls were made of concrete, the floor of stone, and both were sturdy and plain. Three simple coffins sat side-by-side with heavy silver chains, one set lying on the floor next to middle one, and a short man was lying half over that coffin with his feet firmly planted on the floor. His face paled as he heard the door open but he didn't move an inch.

David, who had red-hair and light green eyes, grunted as he struggled to hold down the coffin lid. It was pretty easy to see that the person inside wanted out in the very worst way. "I thought that I was strong enough."

"Obviously," Pan said dryly, "you thought wrong."

Kirsten calmly wound the chains around the coffin, padlocked them, and placed a large silver cross underneath a chain. It shone like a star in the darkest of night and both vampires turned their heads until the light faded away. The person inside the coffin, Akiro, screamed in pain for a moment before everything went silent. The short blond plunged her hands into a large bowl of water that had been sitting on the floor and sighed slightly.

"Blessed items burn," she explained before the question had even been asked. "As long as a religion had devoted followers, we cannot touch their holy artifacts."

Pan gasped slightly as she saw the damage done to Kirsten's hands. Blisters had risen on her palms and the skin was a brilliant red. "Are you okay?"

"I will be. Vampires heal very quickly though wounds created by holy objects take a little longer." She smiled pleasantly at her before turning to David. Her face transformed into one of extreme displeasure and David backed away. "You, on the other hand, will not be so lucky. Bring me the blade."

His eyes widened in fear. "Master, I only tried to help! I didn't mean any disrespect!"

"The blade," she repeated slowly. "I will not ask again." Pan got the feeling that the punishment would be hundreds of times worse if she had to fetch the weapon herself.

"The blade" was a twelve inch long shining knife with an obsidian handle. David handed it to her, hilt first, and unbuttoned his shirt. Kirsten gripped the blade tightly in one injured hand but no sound of pain passed her lips.

"Does the girl have to watch? She isn't one of us."

"Son Pan may not be a vampire but she can help us. In order for her to do so, though, she must understand all of what we are."

David's chest was pale and traced by old scars but there was slight color in his cheeks. Before Pan could wonder about that, Kirsten moved forward and buried the knife into his abdomen completely up to the hilt. Blood welled to the surface immediately and Pan knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no one with Ningen DNA could survive a wound that severe.

Just as quickly as it had been inserted, the knife was withdrawn. The man collapsed to the floor and took rapid, shallow breaths. Kirsten wiped his blood onto his discarded shirt and turned away. Pan gazed at David in mute horror, watching his blood pool onto the cold stone floor.

"He will live but heal slowly. The blade was high in silver content." She motioning for the quarter saiya-jin to follow. "A just punishment for disobeying me."

Pan finally found her voice. "Do the words "cruel and unusual" mean anything to you?"

"We are not people any longer," her voice was sharp. "The world has rejected us so we reject all of the world and its so-called "civilized behavior". The human population is only good for blood donations. Without them we would not survive but without us they would overpopulate the Earth. We are doing them a great service."

"You kill Ningen to satisfy your hunger," she said bluntly.

She laughed. "A vampire cannot kill a human by himself, it usually takes three of us. Even we can become full. Those who are fed upon by a large group of vampires rise three days from their date of death as revenants -- animalistic creatures without souls or reason."

"*None* of you have souls."

They rejoined the others in the sitting room. Bra had abandoned her small spot on the floor and had migrated across the room to strike up a conversation with one of the female vampires. She looked up and only caught the last bit of Kirsten and Pan's conversation.

"Is not a caterpillar reborn as a butterfly? The lesser vampires enter the warmth that their master provides and emerge as a greater being. I give them life, Pan, I call their souls back into their bodies once the sun sinks below the horizon."

"Where do they go?" Bra asked. "Your souls, I mean."

Kirsten spread her arms wide and shrugged. The movement exposed the burns to the weak light. "No one knows the answer, not even the members of the Vampire Council."

"Master!" The brunette from before gasped as she ran to her. "Your hands!"

"Do not worry, Marissa, I will heal in time."

She gently grasped both hands in her own and brought them upward towards her face. "Is this from a holy cross?"

"I will heal," she said softly, catching the taller woman's eyes with her own.

Marissa nodded and turned to the two girls, her skin and eyes looking remarkably human. Her long hair was braided neatly and her eyes were slightly slanted from some sort of Asian ancestry. "Forgive me for not greeting you earlier."

"No problem. When something's going on it's usually hard to remember your manners." A sound man Pan turn her head to the room she had just come from. David stumbled through the doorway, his face still contorted in pain. His wound was healing though you couldn't actually see it happening. Every time Pan blinked, the gaping hole closed just a tiny bit more. She mentally compared it to a flower blooming; you didn't see it happen but you had proof that it did.

"Servitude has its benefits," Kirsten said, her voice calling to both Pan and Bra. It was as if she were hypnotizing them. "You would always have my protection, my care, my guidance, and my love. We are all a family."

Pan just stared at her. "But we don't need any of those things from you. We already have them."

"You do not understand," she smiled, "but you will."

"Are you *threatening* me?" Pan asked as she pinched Bra to bring her mind back to the present.

She spoke pleasantly as if she were only asking about the weather. "That was not a threat. It was a promise."

"What do I have to do with this?" Bra asked, confusion written all over her face. Her question wasn't answered, instead Kirsten handed Pan a brightly printed pamphlet.

"All You Ever Wanted to Know About Vampires But Were Afraid to Ask." One eyebrow rose.

"Ja," she rolled her eyes. "The Church prints these up and now they are finally useful for something other than kindling."

"The Church?"

She turned over the pamphlet and pointed to a name in bold lettering. "The Church of Eternal Life. It is the fastest growing religion in the world."

"Can anyone join the Church?"

"Iie, Bra-chan. You are not going to join those people."

Annoyed blue eyes glared at her best-friend. "I didn't want to join, Pan-chan. How stupid do I look?" The shorter girl could think of exactly how stupid and Bra punched her in the shoulder, knowing exactly what would have come from her mouth. "I was just curious, bakayaro."

Kirsten watched them with amusement, her strange blue eyes moving back-and-forth between them. "Anyone who is mortal can become a member. I find most of them to be nothing more than," she trailed off, attempting to find the right words to say, "babbling idiots. Especially the leader, Jezebelle."

"Old rival?" Pan asked with a knowing smile. She was secretly pleased that she had touched a nerve. The tense expression on Kirsten's face disappeared almost as fast as it had arrived.

"I don not think I have had the pleasure of informing you about rule number two yet. Under no circumstances are you allowed to disrespect me." She glared at her. "By doing so you are giving me permission to punish you in any way that I see fit."

Pan, at first, only gaped at her in disbelief but soon a flush of angry color was rising in her cheeks. "WHAT THE HELL?!"

"We're not your people!" Bra exclaimed.

Kirsten smiled slightly. "Yet you are in my territory. Does that not that give me at least partial control over you?"

"Iie, iie," Pan shook her head. "Bra and I have complete control over ourselves and neither you nor anyone else can be our master."

"We will see," she said quietly. "We will see."

***

Pan had disliked Kirsten almost nearly from the moment she had met her and the blond girl hadn't done much to change her mind. She was a torturer, a riddler, and an annoyance. The small girl had power over adults that Pan couldn't even begin to understand and, she admitted privately to herself, it pissed her off royally.

Bra was silent on their trip above ground and that worried her. The Briefs girl was usually *never* silent.

"Yen for your thoughts," Pan said with a smile but she didn't receive one in return. After a brief moment, Bra began to speak.

"I wonder why she wants me." With a small movement of her thumb, she unencapsulated her car and it appeared on the street in a small puff of smoke. The cherry red convertible, still shiny with newness, was Bra's pride and joy. She was hardly ever seen without it and you scratched her car in anyway, she was ready to claw your eyes out.

One of the most puzzling things in life, to Pan, was the method used to shrink down very large objects so that they fit into the tiny capsules that the Capsule Corporation manufactured. It  was very similar to the age-old question "How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?". Both would take hours to answer.

"I know why she wants *me*," Pan grumbled, her voice filled with intense dislike for the Master of the City. Kirsten figured that no one would feel threatened by a small teenage girl and would answer her questions truthfully. ' _She can take that theory and stuff it were the sun don't shine. Big things often come in small packages. I believe this and so does Veggie-ojisan._ '

"Loose the anger, Pan-chan." She hit a button on the remote and unlocked the door. Bra couldn't really handle anything more complicated than that, a television remote, a hair dryer, and, of course, the telephone. She was rather pathetic in the technology area but Pan loved her anyway. Hopping into the car beside her best-friend, the dark-haired girl shifted until she found the best spot in the black leather seat, she continued to complain.

"She treats me as if I'm their only hope for salvation!" Her tone grew darker at that point. "I'm no one's savior. Ojiichan is the true hero."

Bra shook her head, blue spiral curls bouncing with the movement. "I didn't think so, Pan. She didn't treat you any better than the rest of her people."

Pan glared at her. Kirsten treated her people like crap. "Domo arigatou, Bra," she said sarcastically. "You're being *really* helpful." She thought back to the last thing the small master had asked her. 'Will you help us?' The answer had escaped before she could stop it. 'Hai.'

"What in the world was I thinking?!" Pan wailed, causing the other girl to glance over in concern. "I can't help them! The *cops* can't even help them!"

She stopped at a red light and patted Pan on the knee comfortingly. "I'm going to help you, remember? Everything will be fine."

Making a sour face, she refused to consider that as a good thing. "Have *you* ever solved a murder case before?"

"Nope but it'll sure be interesting to learn."

"Homicide involves dead bodies, Bra-chan, and blood. Lots and lots of blood. Are you sure that you're up to dealing with that?"

Her face paled but her voice remained steady. "I'm sure as hell not going to let you do this alone."

"Bodies hacked into tiny bits and pieces, faces contorted into everlasting expressions of extreme pain, pools of crimson blood spilled onto the floor-"

"I GET IT, OKAY?!" Her knuckles were chalk-white on the steering wheel. A humorless laugh then escaped, confusing Pan. "At least papa will be happy that I'm finally ready to take the first step toward becoming a true Saiya-jin warrior."

Pan tried to imagine Vegeta happy but the image refused to come. She and Bra looked at each other and knew that they were thinking of exactly the same thing. Bursting into hysterical laughter, they continued on their journey to the Briefs' home.


	2. The Church of Eternal Life

_[ "I just don't want Gohan to get pissed because I've seen what he can do when you screw with his family. If I lose his daughter then I'll lose my life and I'm not done with it yet." - Vegeta  ]  
_

Her parents were gone after she got up on Saturday and there was a note taped to her forehead (her tousan's handiwork) instructing her on what to clean. Pan thought it was too bad that she couldn't use the dragonballs for "frivolous" reasons.

The doorbell rang and she had to run downstairs, almost breaking a leg when she slipped on the carpet runner. Of course by the time she opened the door the ringer was gone.

But an envelope was shoved underneath the welcome mat.

They were different this time, both the envelope and the letter, and she decided to open it right there on the front stoop in her black-and-silver pajamas.

  
_To Son Pan:_

_I have seen you with Kirsten and would like to speak with you. Come to the Church on Satan City Boulevard tonight. The Master can lead the way._

_Jezebelle  
_

 

If that woman thought that her archrival was going to lead her straight to her place of worship then there was something seriously wrong with her mind.

"Pan-chan?" She looked up and into the very confused face of Bra Briefs. "Why are you outside at noon dressed in only your pjs?" The letter was handed to her without a word and the other girl went back upstairs to get dressed.

"Not *this* again!" She heard her whine loudly. The feeling was completely mutual.

"We have to go, you know," Pan called back to her.

Her voice grew closer with every word. "Why's that? Why can't we just burn this stupid letter and forget about everything?"

Pan's dark head pushed through the neck of her usual red crop top with yellow trim. "We're supposed to be the good guys."

A small nose wrinkled is distaste. "Please, for the love of kami, tell me that you aren't wearing that again."

"I'm wearing it again," Pan grinned as she stuffed her feet into her shoes, "and again and again and again." She looked at Bra's own clothing, a red mini skirt and matching top, and rolled her eyes. "Please tell me that you aren't dressing like a two-dollar whore again."

It was Bra's turn to smile. "I'm wearing it again and again and again and again."

***

Everyone was awake at the Briefs home except Trunks. The demi-Saiya-jin, when Pan peeked into his room, was sprawled out flat on his back, snoring away. Bra whispered to her that he probably wouldn't be up until two and that she could catch him coming from the shower around two-oh-five. That made Pan blush and her friend chuckle.

Vegeta was impatient and it showed. He had been convinced a few months ago by Pan that training her would be to his best benefit. Like her father, she considered her grandfather to be entirely too gentle when they sparred. She had learned from him as a small child but she felt that it was time to move on.

"I figured that you weren't going to show today," he said without glancing up from his stretching. "Convincing Bra that wearing designer clothes while training is a bad thing to do takes a while. I should know."

"Papa!" his daughter protested. "I don't act that silly."

The response was the same for both. "Right," Vegeta and Pan said. "Sure you don't."

They sparred for hours and Pan successfully worked her frustration out on her adopted uncle. Bra took breaks ever half-hour that began life as tiny things but ended up as gigantic wastes of time. After breaking for lunch and losing Bra to a phone call, the two of them sparred again.

"I need advice," Pan began as she and Vegeta rested late in the evening.

One eyebrow rose. "And you're asking me because...?"

"You'll tell me the truth." She gazed up at the appearing stars and sighed. "Some woman wants my help and for some odd reason I really believe that I'm the only one who can help her."

"And?"

"And she's a vampire." Pan glanced over at his reaction. There wasn't one. "Didn't you hear me, Veggie-ojisan?"

"So she's a vampire. Big deal." He shrugged. "Nothing special."

A 'I can't believe he just said that' look came over her face. "We're not on the same wavelength here. Vampires aren't supposed to exist! They aren't just pale people with fangs, you know. You must think they're just another race, don't you?"

"Race as in skin color or race as in species?"

"Race as in color."

He thought about that for a moment. "Maybe I did assume that they were. This planet has a huge problem with people that are different than they are. Saiya-jin were never like that, we were only one race no matter how dark or light your skin color was."

"Right, Veggie-ojisan," she turned over onto her side to face him and propped her head up onto her elbow. "Vampires are creatures from horror movies that shouldn't exist. They drink Ningen blood to survive and sleep during the day to arise during the night. I should have known that at the root of all fiction there is always some tiny grain of truth."

"And now you've met some of these supposedly "fictional" creatures. Why do they need your help and not Kakarotto's?" He was a little bitter about that one. Just because he didn't often help people didn't mean that he couldn't do it.

"That's what I don't understand."

The backdoor opened slightly. "Pan-chan! It'll be sunset soon!"

"We're going to the Church of Eternal Life, tonight." As predicted, Vegeta perked up at the words "eternal life". "Would you, um, like to come too?" She had a bad feeling about everything and a little backup wouldn't hurt. If she could, she would be asking every powerful person that she knew. That would be a little *too* suspicious, though.

He got to his feet, interested in the Church. "Do I have to dress up or anything?"

"Probably not. Be ready in twenty minutes, I have to back home and change."

He looked down at her. "You really think that you can just give me an order without being yelled at?"

"Of course. I'm one of your favorite people."

Vegeta grunted before heading off into the house.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen," Pan said to an imaginary audience, "was Vegeta-ese for 'hai'."

***

She didn't know what she had been expecting but the building she saw wasn't anything like it. Maybe she imagined an ancient stone building heavy with Gothic architecture or something along the lines of traditional Japanese. Whatever the style she envisioned, it was completely the opposite.

Pan, Bra, and Vegeta stood on the sidewalk before the wide wooden steps that led up to the main entrance. People, from the conservative to the liberal, had been coming in a steady stream almost from the moment they had arrived and it was nearly sunset. The building was painted white with dark green and pale yellow trim and the grounds were landscaped with small yellow and white flowers. Pan turned and saw that the sun had moved completely below the horizon line and that full-dark was, at last, upon them.

"Well, let's get this over with," she said slightly nervously. They joined the crowd of people that stood in the vestibule waiting for the inner doors to the main part of the church to open. At precisely eight o'clock two Ningen ushered everyone inside.

It was... magnificent. On the outside you received the feeling of modest elegance but inside it was a completely different story. The pews were made of some light colored wood that shone in the light of the golden chandeliers that hung high above. The carpet was a pale, pale cream that perfectly matched the white and gold pattern that covered the walls. There were none of the things along them that you usually saw in churches such as crucifixes and images of saints but what replaced their presence drew the eye just as well.

There were rows upon rows of paintings, some dating back to ancient times by the look of the clothing and the hairstyles. The one that really caught Pan's attention was set during the middle ages. A woman was walking down the street alone at night, never noticing the eyes of blue fire that watched her from the shadows. Just looking at it made chills run down her spine.

Pan, Bra, and Vegeta took seats in the middle on the hard wooden pews and the church soon filled nearly to capacity. Obviously Kirsten hadn't been exaggerating when she said that the Church of Eternal Life was popular. If any more people decided to show up, they would have to stand in the back.

"Come all ye who seek eternal life," a gentle voice said clearly from behind her. The three of them all turned at the same time and found a brunette of average height in a simple navy dress with white lace trim. She slowly began to glide up the aisle -- there was no other word for it, she was moving too smoothly to be walking -- and at various points paused briefly to smile at people. When she reached Pan's row she actually bent down slightly to whisper something to her.

"Meet me after the service. I have information." Then she smiled and Pan found herself smiling back.

"Pan-chan," Bra pinched her on the arm. "Why do you have that stupid look on your face?"

The tiny pain jerked her out of the stupor. "She did something to me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Kirsten did almost the same thing, remember? Mind tricks."

The other members of the congregation were staring adoringly at the altar and the beautiful woman who stood behind it. They were hanging onto every word from her mouth and every movement from her body so it was no surprise that, when she paused in her speech to ask the people if any wanted to become members of the church, all of them jumped to their feet. Pan couldn't take it anymore, something had to be done.

"Wait a damn minute!" She shouted, her voice echoing in the silence. She pushed her way through the people in the aisle until she was standing before the altar. "You're using some kind of power on these people and I can't let you continue to do it."

Several other vampires had rose from their seats around Jezebelle but she held up her hand to pause their movement. "These people came willingly to my church, dear Pan. Surely they also will willingly join us in the fellowship."

"Remove the magic from their minds, first, then ask them."

"So young and so deluded," she said with a smile. "You can't order me about like a child. I am centuries older than you are, Pan. Always remember that. I promise you that I will help you solve the murder mystery but I will not promise anything else." She looked out into the sea of people. "Now, who wants to receive eternal life?"

Pan was almost trampled by eager worshippers and she made it through the crowd without incident. Bra was standing by their pew, Vegeta nowhere to be found. "*Please* don't tell me he's up there trying to become immortal?!"

"Okay, I won't tell you." Bra shrugged. "I can't stop him from doing something stupid. Not like kaasan can, anyway."

"Vegeta-ojisan!" she called, trying to track him down by his ki signature. The people were being led away to a back room by some of Jezebelle's people until the only person left was the man she was searching for.

He shook his head as he stared at the room that, to him, led to the Promised Land. "I can't do it. At least not until I learn more about being a vampire. What if I lost all of my skills?"

"You have to stay Saiya-jin!" Pan said firmly. "Vampire's don't live forever. As soon as someone gets their hands on a wooden stake or holy water you're toast."

"But what if they don't? How long would I live if no one tried to off me?"

Jezebelle descended from the pulpit and grasped his hands between her own. "You would live for all eternity."

"Forget it," he snapped as he yanked his hands away. A problem with immortality was making itself known. "Why would I want to do that? If everyone I know now were dead then there would really be no point in continuing on, would there?"

"You could make new friends. You could have new lovers." Her brown eyes continued to try and draw him inward even as her voice took on a distinctly seductive edge. "We would be your new family."

Pan passed between them and broke the spell while Bra tried to snap her father out of his trance. "Look, lady, I don't have time to stand here and watch you play games with my ojisan. Give me your information so that I can get started on this case."

"Very well," she replied as her voice cooled ten degrees. "I will help you only because my own people are also targets. Kirsten and I have a rather bad history."

"So I've heard," Pan said before turning to Bra. "You stay here with him and maybe keep him from trying to kill my informant."

She nodded. "I'll try but no guarantees, alright? He may be my papa but *no one* can control him."

"Good enough for me."

The office consisted of only a couch, two chairs, a small table, and a filing cabinet. There were no personal items or plants on the shelves and no photos hanging on the walls. It was a spartan, uncluttered room and it suited Jezebelle perfectly.

The vampire made herself comfortable in a dark green wing chair and Pan took the seat directly across from her.

"Ten days ago there was dissension among the ranks of Kirsten's supposedly close-knit group," the woman began. "It seems that some felt that we have remained hidden for long enough and that it was time to take our rightful place in the world. The small group of them were overruled but the debate never ceased. A few days after that, the first vampire was killed."

Her face lost it's semi-normal healthy color as she remembered the corpse. "In all of my six hundred years as a vampire, I have never seen anything like it. The man wasn't just murdered, he was brutally slain. Signs of torture marked his body and his internal organs, save his heart, were lying by his feet. His wrists had also been slit and so much of the life-giving liquid had been spilled upon the ground." She sighed. "Such a waste."

She had to ask. "The blood or the man?"

"The man, of course. Do you think me so heartless that I would not care that a life had been taken?"

"If the shoe fits..."

The color that had newly returned grew darker. "How dare you say that to me in my own office?! I graciously offer you help and you insult my morals!"

' _Pissing her off won't help anyone,_ ' Pan said to herself. "I apologize, please continue." Jezebelle took a deep breath to calm herself and did so.

"You will probably need a description of the torture done to Armand. Everyone has a distinctive style. First of all there were silver chain burns on his wrists and ankles. Silver is the only type of metal that can harm us seriously. If he had survived the torture, those marks would had lasted forever. There were at least a hundred small cuts on his body, inflicted with a silver blade of course, and considerable bruising around his groin area."

"Was he, er, raped?" Pan was beginning to think that she was completely out of her league.

A shrug. "No one is sure since the one who tortured him hasn't been found. It's my belief that something artificial was used. Whoever did that amount of damage to him probably got off on the knifing. That's why there were so many careful cuts." She looked at Pan's face and smiled slightly. "You're feeling overwhelmed, aren't you?"

"I don't know why Kirsten thinks that I'm the one for the job. I've never seen a dead body in real life and, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm still a kid. Maybe my tousan's right, I don't think I can help you."

Jezebelle nodded and Pan watched as her eyes unfocused. "You have great power and not just in the physical sense. Your ki is strong but so is your preternatural energy. Has Kirsten told you anything about us?"

"Only a little. I still don't understand how you exist."

"We have always existed but chose not to be seen. As I am undead, your power calls to me in way that I cannot understand. It's something ancient, something that transcends time."

Pan didn't like the way she said that. "You're over six centuries old! If *you* don't know what's going on with me, who does?"

"Kirsten is the daughter of a Viking so it might be better to ask her instead."

"That little annoying girl has been a vampire for over a thousand years?!" Stranger things were true, she ought to know. Figuring that she wasn't going to get much more information from Jezebelle, she excused herself from the office. "Contact me if you have any other information. I'm sure you'll find a way."

"Certainly. Have a nice evening."

Pan left feeling more confused than ever before. At first she had only been talked into solving a murder but now it seemed that she was somehow linked to the undead. "I used to just be Son Pan, a quarter Saiya-jin teenage girl," she sighed. "Now I know how tousan felt at my age."

She and Vegeta bumped into each other, literally. Bra had talked him out of storming the office in a rage but after a short time he had begun to pace. "If she isn't out in a five minutes I'm going in after her."

"I didn't know you cared so much about her, Papa," Bra had said with a pleased smile.

He waved her comment away. "I just don't want Gohan to get pissed because I've seen what he can do when you screw with his family. If I lose his daughter then I'll lose my life and I'm not done with it yet."

"Oh, Papa," she sighed.

The extra minutes he had allotted the Pan quickly flew by and, true to his word, he was headed off to the back office as soon as the second hand on his watch hit twelve. She emerged from the room at exactly the same time and collided at chest height.

Looking up, a brilliant smile spread over her face. "You were worried about me!"

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not!"

"Excuse me!  Are you two going to act like little kids for the remainder of the night? If so then I'm going on home. You two can stay here and argue."

Pan blushed when she realized what she was doing. "Um, I have to get home anyway. Tousan and kaasan's already mad at me but I don't have to make it worse. I was supposed to clean my room today and I forgot."

"You didn't forget," Bra said with certainty.

"I will have by the time I talk to my parents," she winked and both of them laughed.

Vegeta just stared at them. Ningen behavior was slowly being understood but teenage behavior still eluded him completely.

He had no idea that everything was the way that it was supposed to be.


End file.
